The Administration for Children's Services (ACS) recently closed two major child care centers
in New York City. Contracts with Children's Liberation Day Care Center in Manhattan's East
Village and Lucille Murray Child Development Center in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx
were terminated in early January. The two centers collectively served over 300 children.
Lucille Murray represents the fourth day care center to be closed in the South Bronx alone,
for a total loss of 400 slots in one of the city's poorest areas.

Despite ACS citing financial mismanagement and building repairs as primary reasons for the
closings, a number of families, child care workers and teachers expressed concern and anger
that the decision to close Children's Liberation and Lucille Murray was unnecessary and
detrimental to many low-income families in the area. Concerns exist over the effect the closings
will have on families who depended on the centers, many for subsidized child care. ACS has
planned to transfer many of the children to other providers, and to issue vouchers for families
to locate new child care. Yet many of the affected families were conveniently living near the
centers and relied on them to maintain employment while their children were being cared for.
Doubts exist over whether these parents will be able to find quality, affordable and local day
care services in a timely manner.

The New York State Assembly's Committee on Children and Families is holding this hearing
to identify the obstacles that New York City day care centers face and the reasons behind the
recent closings. The Committee is interested in hearing from parents with child care needs
and from ACS on strategies to meeting these needs throughout New York City.

Please see below for a list of subjects to which witnesses may direct their testimony.
Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committee at the above hearing should
complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply
form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency
postponement or cancellation.

Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee
will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special
circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated
to Committee staff as early as possible. In the absence of a request, witnesses will be scheduled
in the order in which reply forms are postmarked.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk.
The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of
the Committee's interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with
its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities.
For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford
such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

William Scarborough
Member of Assembly
Chair
Committee on Children and Families

SELECTED ISSUES TO WHICH WITNESSES MAY DIRECT THEIR TESTIMONY:

Will all the children that were previously attending Lucille Murray and Children's
Liberation be transferred to other providers? What is the distance from Lucille
Murray and Children's Liberation from these providers?

What type of assistance will ACS give to parents receiving vouchers who are
having trouble finding new child care slots for their children?

Since 2004, ACS has closed four day care centers in the Bronx including
Lucille Murray. Please describe the process that took place in transferring the
children from the three previous day care center closings to new child care slots.
How many found new day care?

The New York City Department of Investigation issued a memo to ACS citing
financial mismanagement at Lucille Murray. How were funds misused? What
has been done to rectify this?

Would appointing a new community service provider to operate Lucille Murray
and Children's Liberation be a reasonable solution to keeping them open?
Please explain.

How often is under-enrollment a factor in shutting day care centers? If parents
are having trouble finding day care slots for their children, how is it possible that
under-enrollment exists? What barriers to finding day care exist for these parents?

How many child care centers accepting subsidized child care currently exist in New
York City? Where are they?

Please describe the "Full Enrollment Initiative". What is the status of the
project and what types of results is it producing?

PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM

Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing Child Day Care Center Closings are
requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail it to: